Saw this last night.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.   All I can say is I gained a whole new respect for Ang Lee's filmmaking skills.   Two thumbs up.

Easily one of the best and most underrated films of 2012. Yes, I said underrated. As much buzz as it's gotten for Oscar season, I've barely talked to anyone who's seen it.

The film almost seems like an oxymoron. On the one hand, it's a colossal "spectacle" film loaded with eye candy that pulls hard at audience heartstrings in the hopes of delivering a life-affirming message. On the other hand, it's extremely broad, weirdly abstract, and can be interpreted in countless ways. I'd say it's one of those types of films where what you put into it is what you get out.

Ultimately, it's an extremely intelligent and multifaceted work of art that's also extremely gripping and entertaining and universally accessible. Needless to say, a rare feet in this day and age. Makes sense that it would come from a director like Ang Lee whose work has been pretty much all over the map.

Highly recommended.

Life of Pi is easily one of my favorite movies ever.  It is a movie that stays with you.  It is not just something you watch and forget.

It is visually stunning, intelligently written, and it leaves a lot to interpretation (which I like because I hate being spoon fed what a story is about).  Plus, I love being able to watch a movie without a ton of recognizable stars in it because it gives me a chance to build a connection with the characters rather than the actors.

On a side note, as a vegetarian, I felt that the way the cook acted was spot on with how a small minority of people that I have encountered in real life treat me when they find out I am a vegetarian.  Thus, I was able to strongly identify with that moment.

I was really impressed with how the creators cracked the story.
From what I heard, they made big structural changes to the narrative.
Took them a long time to figure out HOW to tell the tale.

All the present day stuff is NOT in the book, from what I understand.
It was the adults that were added to give Pi's story the weight it deserved.
And those scenes certainly helped bookend a really stellar project.
I'm glad it won more Oscars than anyone else this year.
The film's per screen average is still better than every other Oscar film out now.
Thrilled that they made $600 million worldwide on this one!

E.D.

Quoted from James McClung Easily one of the best and most underrated films of 2012. Yes, I said underrated. As much buzz as it's gotten for Oscar season, I've barely talked to anyone who's seen it. The film almost seems like an oxymoron. On the one hand, it's a colossal "spectacle" film loaded with eye candy that pulls hard at audience heartstrings in the hopes of delivering a life-affirming message. On the other hand, it's extremely broad, weirdly abstract, and can be interpreted in countless ways. I'd say it's one of those types of films where what you put into it is what you get out. Ultimately, it's an extremely intelligent and multifaceted work of art that's also extremely gripping and entertaining and universally accessible. Needless to say, a rare feet in this day and age. Makes sense that it would come from a director like Ang Lee whose work has been pretty much all over the map. Highly recommended.

Couldn't agree more with everything you've said here, James.

IMO, this should've won Best Picture. Ang's been very unlucky to miss out on Best Picture for this and Brokeback Mountain. Two of the best Oscar nominees in recent times.

Fantastic film, plain and simple.  Most likely one of the best movies I've ever seen.

The effects are simply incredible.

The story is heart warming, moving, and unique as they come.

The acting is solid all the way around.

The visuals are simply astounding.

There are so many messages here, it's amazing and each viewer will take away something different.

This should have won Best Picture, hands down.

Grade - A+

If this film made anyone curious about the novel, I'd just like to mention another work of Yann Martel's, What Is Stephen Harper Reading?, which is an absolutely brilliant work and, despite its apparent focus on Canada, is I think universally relevant. In particular, I thought it might be of interest to this group because it's all about the importance of reading!

Beatrice & Virgil is also amazing, though it's probably his least accessible.

I agree with all the previous posts. Not much to say about this... it's more or less flawless and one of my favorite films of 2012. I mean, I didn't see many movies last year, but still.

I hate that I missed it in theaters. Definitely recommended if you haven't seen it already.

Quoted from crookedowl ... it's more or less flawless...

I also liked it a great deal, but felt that whole "“carnivorous island" segment was just a weird tangent that did not go anywhere and brought nothing to the story as a whole.  In fact, it sort of diminished the "truth" to the reminder of Pi’s tale.

It has been a while since I saw it, but I remember thinking that entire episode could have been one, big deleted scene without affecting the story at all.

Did I miss its significance?

Quoted from bert Did I miss its significance?

It was super cool!!!  Is that not significant enough?

It was one of my favs too.